Hello. My name is the Socialista and I'm an addict; a real live Angry Birds addict.

There, I've said it. I'm supposed to feel better now, aren't I? Isn't admission of a problem the first step to recovery? Isn't that what people are saying to Charlie Sheen?

Well, gosh, I've admitted my addiction and I don't feel any better. In fact, I still feel this strong--really, really strong--gravitational pull to those nasty birds. Now, you may or may not know but Angry Birds is this silly game that I've downloaded on my iPad. It's an "app" that I just can't stop clicking. In fact, 12 million people around the world have done the same thing. Apparently, it's quite a popular and addictive little bugger.

So what's the fuss all about? Well, the entire premise of this stupid, mindless game is to hurl different birds at nasty little piggish-aliens that are arranged under various protective barriers. Hit one little green round pig in the right way and it explodes--much to your confused satisfaction. So why launch these angry birds at these swine anyway? Well, it turns out that the pigs either attempted to or did in fact knock down or eat or just generally destroy the homes of these birds and now they're pissed. In fact, they're so pissed that they've banded together to get these evil pigs. With each launch of an angry bird, you get the possibility of getting even with the nasty swine.

This raises a much larger issue for me--why do I get such sick satisfaction from hurling birds at these little pigs and even more joy in just completely obliterating them? Admittedly, I've actually given this more thought than I should but I think I've discovered the answer: because I'm a vengeful bitch. No, just kidding. Well, only partially. The latter part of that descriptive term is true. The more troubling of course is the vengeful part. Am I really happy to inflict revenge or punishment on these little pigs that have wronged me (or the birds) in some way? Isn't it, after all, my job as a lawyer to go after people or entities or whatever in the spirit of revenge? 

Troubling, isn't it? What is it about human nature, mine for example, that I want to get back at people, or at the very least, teach them a lesson? Maybe I've just become too conditioned by this world, too jaded. The legal system in which I work in and which operates in this country is indeed premised on this very notion. Instead of rehabilitating people and teaching a correct, proper way of life with some modicum of mercy shown to the offender as a human being, if someone commits a crime, we and the state set out to first and foremost punish, to impart some vengeance onto the criminal. This is why we have the death penalty after all.

So I have to ask: why is revenge and getting even so important anyway? Just something for me to ponder the next time I want to launch an angry bird at a pig that just wanted a small bite to eat....